Collapsible brush



Aug'o 4, 1942. H. s`. MEYERs COLLAPSIBLE BRUSH Filed May 26? 1941 'l y,IAIVEAITR l-Iarr Meyers Patented Aug. 4,` 1942 2,291,341 smLE BRUSH arry S; Meyers, New York, N. Y.

Application May 26, 1941, vSerial No.v 395,125

5 Claims.

This invention relates to hair brushes, and more particularly to brushes wherein the bristle tufts are so mounted as to enable the said tufts to be folded downwardly into a compact space when the brushes are not in use and to be raised into operative position when it is desired to operate the brushes in the usual manner.

It is the general purpose and object of my invention to provide a brush of this character which is so constructed as to enable the bristle tufts thereof to be conveniently folded downwardly and which will enable the brush as a whole to be contained within a shallow receptacle when not in use.

Further and more limited objects of the invention are to provide a brush of this character with conveniently operable means for enabling the bristle tufts to be maintained in their elevated and operative position as well as in their depressed condition.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a brush of this character with means whereby the bristle tufts may be automatically raised to their upright operative positions.

Further and more limited objects f the invention will be set forth in the detailed description oi.' the same as illustrated in the drawing hereof, wherein Fig. l represents a plan view of a brush constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 a detail in section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 a transverse sectional view corresponding to the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 a longitudinal sectional elevation showing a modication of the construction illustrated in the preceding views; and Fig. 5 a detail in perspective of the latch for holding the brush in its folded or depressed condition, the latch in said view corresponding to the central portion of the latch employed in Figs. 1-3, the additional portions of the latch in theformer figures being shown in dot-and-dash lines.

Describing the parts by reference characters, and rst in connection with the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, III denotes the bottom, II and I2 the sides, and I3 the ends of a shallow receptacle. Secured within the bottom of the receptacle is a base plate I4 having lugs I5 projecting upwardly from opposite sides Athereof and having apertures therein in which the opposite ends I6* of hinge pins I6 are mounted. Each hinge pin is mounted within a bore IIl located within and extending longitudinally imity to one of the lower corners thereof. For convenience of description, the right hand sides of the bars shown in Fig. 2 will be referred to hereinafter as the rear sides of the said bars and the sides or surfaces from which the bristles project will be referred to as the upper surfaces or tops of said bars; also the left hand end of the brush will be designated as the fron of the brush and the left hand bar as the front bar of the series of bars. As willbe noted, the bars I`|l extend transversely of the base I4 and areeach provided with a plurality of tufts I8 of brush bristles, the said tufts having their lower ends extending downwardly from the tops of said bars and secured within suitable seats IIB provided therefor in the said bars.

intermediate of the ends of each bar, the bore I1* is enlarged to providel a recess lI1b for the accommodation of a torsion spring I9, the lower end of which bears against the upper surface of the base I4 and the upper end of which bears vagainst the upper wall of the said recess, whereby the springs will tend to raise the bars when the latter are depressed and to hold the bars in elevated position.

In order to accommodate a maximum number of bristle bars upon any given length of base and within a. given length of receptacle and yalso to enable the maximum number of bristle tufts to be carried by each bar, the tufts on adjacent bars are staggered, as will appear clearly by reference to Fig. 1, and each -bar at the rearward of the front bar is provided with concaved grooves I'Id for the reception of the bristle tufts on the bar next in front of the same.

.With the construction and arrangement .of parts thus far described, it will be evident that, under normal conditions, the springs I9 will operate to hold the brush bars in the positions ,shown in Figs. 2 and 3, whereby the brush may be operated in the usual manner, subject, however, to the objection that, when the brush is operated from left to right, the bars may rock about their hinge. pins I6. To prevent this action and also to prevent the springs I9 from raising the bars when they have been folded downvtlirardly; I have provided the following construc- .20 denotes an angle bar, the upper ange 2liIl I whereof is adapted to engage the sides of the bars Ii which may be therebeneath. The vertical ange 20h of said angle bar is provided with a central downwardy extension v,from which afln-e ger-operated portion 20 extends. outwardly through a rectangular bar I 'I and in close prox- 55 throughs, slot I2* provided therefor in the wall I2. This central portion is provided with sleeves 20d, the bores of which register with sleeves 2|* provided at the tops of lugs 2| extending up wardly from the side of the base adjacent to the side wall I2 of the container. A hinge pin 22 is mounted in the sleeves 2 Ia and 20d. A torsion spring 23 surrounds the central portion of the pin 22, bearing at one end against the side wall I2 of the receptacle and at its opposite end against the central portion of the ange 2lib (see Fig. 3).

With the parts constructed and arranged as described, it is believedthat the operation will be readily understood. The spring 23 operates normally to hold the ange 26e in engagement with whichever of the two sides (the top and the front) of the brush bars that may be immediately therebeneath. Assuming that the brush bars are in their down-folded position, as shown in Fig. l, they will be held in such position by the engagement of the flange 2lia with the then upper sides of the brush bars, through the action of the spring 23.

When it is desired to use the brush, it is necessary only to press downwardly upon the ringer piece 28C, which will rock the ange 26B out of engagement with the tops of the brush bars, whereupon the springs i9 will elevate the bars to the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3. When it is desired to fold the brush bars downwardly; the operator presses with his hand against the series of bristle tufts from left to right, thereby rocking the bars to the positions shown in Fig. 1, the latch comprising the bar 2li and its associated parts operating to retain the brushes in their down-folded position and permitting a cover to be applied to the receptacle.

In Figs. 4 and 5, I have shown a modification of my invention shown in the preceding view wherein the brush bars are provided with means connected directlythereto for rocking the same into positions to cause the brush bristles to assume their down-folded position. In these views, the parts corresponding to those shown in the preceding views are designated by the same reference characters which are on the former views, it being noted that in Fig. 4 the brushes are shown in their down-folded position, and with the cover 2d applied thereto. Furthermore, the positions of the bars with reference to the base and the receptacle in which they are placed are reversed vas compared with the positions which they occupy in the preceding views. The brush bars are pivoted at their lower left hand corners instead of their lower right hand corners, as is the case in Figs. l-3, and the front and rear ends of the base and receptacle shown in Fig. e correspond respectively to the rear and front ends of the base and receptacle shown in Figs. l3. Still further, in the modification shown in Fig. 4, the brush bars are not provided with individual springs I9. Instead, a link 25 is pivotally connected to corresponding ends of said bars, adjacent to an upper corner of each, as indicated. One end of the link 25 projects through an end wall I3 and is provided with a downturne-d operating linger 25B. The opposite end is projected beyond the last brush bar in the series of the same and is there provided with a downturned end 25b which is connected by a spring 27 with the adjacent lug I5. y

With the parts occupying the positions shown in Fig. 4, the spring 21 is under tension and, if free to operate, would rock the brush bars about their pivot pins I6, thereby to raise the bristle tufts into the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In order to prevent this operation. I have provided the latch construction shown more particularly in Fig. 5, which diners only from that employed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 in respect to its length. This latch comprises an upper horizontal flange 28, a verticai flange 28', with a handle projection 28h extending laterally from the central portion of the flange 28* through an opening 2S in the side wall I2 ofthe receptacle. On each side of its central portion, the ange 2da is provided with sleeves 3! for the reception of a hinge pin 3i similar to the hinge Din 22, said hinge pin extending through the said sleeves and being mounted at its ends in sleeves S2 projecting upwardly `from the base. A spring (not shown) substantially identical with the spring 22 and located in the same relation to the ange 2S and the side i2 serves normally to hold the ange 23 in engagement with the adjacent upper sides of two of the brush bars. are connected by the link 25, it is unnecessary to elongate the angle bar to the full length of the brush bar assembly, as is the case in the preceding views. I

Assuming that the operator desires to'uscx the brush shown in Figs. 4 and 5, it is only necessary to remove the cover 2t and rock the latch bar 26, 28a by the finger piece 28", whereupon the spring 2l will rock the brush bars to the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3; and the bars will be held in this position by engagement of the ange 28 with the tops of the brush bars therebeneath. When it is desired to collapse the brush, it is only necessary for the operator to push upon the ringer piece 25, which at this time is projected beyond the end wall of the receptacle, thereby to rock the brush bars to the positions shown in Fig. 4. It will ordinarily not be necessary at this time to rock the latch bar, since the spring 23 is capable of yielding sumciently to enable the brush bars therebeneath to rock' y downwardly to collapsed position.

Having thus described4 my invention, what I claim is:

i. [i collapsible brush comprising a base, bars plvotally supported above said base and each provided with a series of bristle tufts, spring means for rocking said bars about their respective pivots thereby to elevate the outer ends of the bristle tufts thereon with respect to said base, and means including a movable element adapted to be brought into and out of engagement with the upwardly presented side or sides their pivots thereby to bring the upper sides thereof in substantially parallel relation with respect to the base, andmeans including a movable element adapted tol be brought into and out -of engagement with the upwardly presented sides of said bars thereby to retain the vsame in either of the positions to which they may be rocked about their pivots.

3. A collapsible brush comprising a base, a

Since these brush bars series of polygonal brush bars each having Y mounted therein and projecting from the upper side thereof a series` of bristle tufts, a hinge pin extending longitudinally through each of said brush bars closely adjacent to the lower rear corner thereof, the said hinge pins being supported by said base, each brush bar having a recess intermediate the ends thereof across which ating portion projecting through a slot provided its hinge pin extends, and a coil spring mounted in said recess upon the hinge pin with one end engaging a wall of said recess and its other end engaging the said base.

4. In a collapsible brush set forth in claim 2, a casing comprising bottom, side and end walls within which the said brush bars are located, and the movable element for engaging the up wardly presented sides of the bars comprising an angle bar pivotally supported by said base and having a vertical ange and a substantially horizontal flange, the latter flange being adapted to engage the top side or sides of one or more of the brush bars, and a spring normally hold- 20 in engagement with the sides of ing the horizontal flange of the said. angle bar in engagement with the top or tops of the brush bar or bars, the said angle bar having an opertherefor inthe adjacent side wall of the casing. 5. A collapsible brush comprising a base, bars pivotally supported above said base and each provided with a series of bristle tufts, spring means for rocking said bars about their respective pivots thereby to elevate the outer ends of the bristle tufts thereon with respect to said base, means including a movable element adapted to be brought into and out of engagement with sides of one or more of the bars, thereby to retain thesaid bars in a position wherein the bristle tufts are elevated with `relation to the base or in a position wherein the bristle tufts are depressed with relation to the base, and spring means tending to hold the said movable element one or more of the. said bars.

' HARRY S. MEYERS. 

